One of the downsides of the dominance of hip-hop culture is that it has led to a certain homogeneity in urban fashion. True, it’s no longer as limited in range as the baggy jeans and Timberlands look, but there’s still a sort of “uniform” for urban youth, a look to which most African youngsters are not immune.
This is just one of the reasons people do a double take when they see the work of Musa Nxumalo. What could just as well be well-shot snaps of friends having fun have made Musa become one of the most exciting young artists in Johannesburg today.
What started it all was Alternative Kidz, a series of photographs that straddle the line between fine art and documentary photography. This series not only documents the typical stuff that young people get up to but also the emergence of urban black youths going against the mainstream and choosing to identify with alternative rock and punk culture.
Nxumalo explains that his fascination with the culture began in the early 2000s. "I used to buy a lot of music and youth culture magazines, and I had a choice to play in a band with my friends, but I really sucked". This interest combined with an enthusiasm for scrap-booking while in high school fed his passion for documenting the culture. "My body of work was the result of my fascination with my friends." It’s through them, he explains, that he can comfortably explore his own experience.
Rock and punk music fans in Soweto?! Yes, that’s another reason for the double take. Although rock and punk went mainstream in South Africa in the 70s and 80s, the sub-culture was and still remains almost exclusively white, as anyone who has been to Oppikoppi, South Africa’s largest annual rock festival, will testify (The webzine Rage has a pretty good article about why this is so). This monochromatic “issue” is not the only reason the BLK JKS attract so much attention – they are, first and foremost a damned good band, with a distinctive sound that throws elements of kwaito, ska, reggae, ambience, jazz and prog into the mix – but the fact that they are just about the only truly notable black rock band from South Africa at the moment has been catnip for a world media hungry for stories about the “new” South Africa. Thus, that the music and aesthetic of the sub-culture has been embraced by some youngsters in the townships makes Nxumalo and his friends in Soweto definite outsiders. His images very cleverly work to redefine the identity of township youth, away from the narrow stereotypical images of hip-hop and kwaito to which young people feel they have to conform.
His work also questions the singular goal of making money (the rejection of commercialism is a cornerstone of punk). The rise of the black middle class in South Africa is such a newsworthy story that someone coined the term “Black Diamonds” to refer to “members” of this group. The phenomenon, while reflecting the freedom of black people in South Africa to finally realize their potential, is also very much tied to material possessions (see this slideshow about Black Diamonds). For young South Africans, this brings added pressures, drive the latest BMW, wear particular clothing brands, etc. Says Nxumalo, "It's all this unnecessary pressure to make money. I'm 24-years-old and there are all these expectations to have a particular job and drive a particular car".
It’s worth mentioning here that Nxumalo and the kids in the sub-culture he documents are not kids of the Black Diamonds, most of whom have moved to the suburbs. Rather, they are mostly kids whose parents, though not rich, earned enough to send them to Model C schools – which previously catered to white kids only - which exposed them to influences that may not have been available to other township kids.
Instead of that dress-for-success aesthetic we see in his photography - some of which is on display on his blog - cool black kids choosing rock’s deliberately grungy look of multi-coloured skinny jeans, head gear – trilby, knitted hats, hairbands - and appropriate body decorations: piercings and tattoos. We see them listening to music with their bedrooms and kitchens as backdrops and in their numbers at parties and events. More recently on his blog he shot crowds at Mofolo Park in Soweto where the BLK JKS were performing.
When he is not exhibiting, or occupied with his work as a coordinator at the Market Theatre Photo Workshop, he’s either shooting or exploring by photo-blogging [AT TWENTY FOUR]. Besides using the blog to “play and write”, as he says, it also allows him to share his work with the public between exhibitions. At only 24 there is still a whole lot of sharing to come from Nxumalo.
Musa Nxumalo himself
Written by Lebohang Thulo
